


They'll Break the Best of You (It Makes You Beautiful)

by Geonn



Category: Leverage, White Collar
Genre: F/F, Missing Scene, Multi, Polyamory, Romance, Stealth Crossover, Threesome - F/F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-20
Updated: 2012-09-20
Packaged: 2017-11-14 16:55:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/517474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tara may have gotten the Robin Hood bug from Nate Ford's crew, but that doesn't mean she's reformed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They'll Break the Best of You (It Makes You Beautiful)

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who doesn't watch White Collar, it's not necessary in order to understand the fic. All you have to know is that Sally is a hacker codenamed the Vulture played by Lena Headey. All Leverage fans should know who Tara is, and Mikal Dayan is the "Eliot" from the evil!Leverage crew. The title is from Amanda Palmer's "Smile (or, Pictures or It Didn't Happen)".

Mikal didn't talk much, but Tara liked that. A woman could speak multitudes without uttering a word. The joy came with learning how to understand what she meant with a look, a grunt, or a smile, and Tara was quickly becoming fluent in Mikal's subtleties. 

They were in a no-name bar, a barnacle on the side of a rundown airport on a strip of unincorporated land. Tara's eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, the brim of her hat pulled down to further obscure her face. Mikal wasn't making any attempts to hide her face, but her general posture of intimidation prevented anyone from looking at her for too long. She wore a sleeveless white dress, a concession to the locals who would balk at seeing a woman in trousers, but it draped her muscular form like a toga. Tara had no doubt that the fixer had a number of weapons hidden out of sight. 

Sally returned from the check-in counter with a superior grin. She had gone the opposite route in regards to dress code. Where Mikal reluctantly dolled herself up, Sally had cut her hair shorter and dressed herself in a button-down Oxford and a sand-colored blazer. She looked like a typical businessman and, considering their location, no one was suicidal enough to ask for specifics. Half the people in the lounge would shoot a nosy tourist before taking the effort to come up with a lie.

"I take it we're on board?" Tara asked.

"Three seats. First class." She slid the tickets across the table. "I figured you didn't fly coach."

Tara grinned. "Must have cost a pretty penny."

Sally tipped her head to the left as she leaned back, indicating at a sweaty bald man in a Hawaiian shirt without overtly pointing at him. "Thank Mr. Smith. He'll discover his generosity when he gets his bank statement in the next few weeks. There will be no official record of us on this flight."

"Excellent." Tara finished her drink and twisted to look out the window. Their plane was finished with pre-flight, and the pilot was on his way to begin bringing the passengers on. "Let Mr. Iljen get onboard first. Once he's in place, we have the six hours between here and Africa to do what we do best."

Mikal raised an eyebrow at her.

Tara smirked. "Okay. Second best." She took off her hat and glasses, straightened in her seat, and winked at Sally. "Game faces, ladies. It's time to get paid."

#

Maxim Iljen's bank account was lighter by seven digits, a nice hefty payday even after it was split three ways. It was money that came from arms and drug sales, so Tara didn't feel too badly about using it to supplement her own income. She told herself that she was the same woman she'd always been, that she hadn't been affected by working with Nate Ford's team. She wasn't broken like Sophie or Parker. She still pulled cons and played a mark to line her own pockets.

The night after their flight to Africa, Tara sat in front of her laptop and stared at the screen for a long moment. The curtains were open, using the nightly glow of Marrakech to light her hotel room. She wore a robe, her long legs extended to rest on the edge of the chair in front of her, the laptop heavy and warm on her bare thighs. Her fingers were poised over the keyboard for so long that finally she just jabbed the confirmation key so she could pull her hand away.

Five hundred thousand dollars to a small charity that helped victims of war-torn countries rebuild. The money would go toward food and shelter for refugees, to rebuild schools and roads and... She didn't exactly know what. She knew that the charity would use it well, and it was a pittance compared to what she was keeping. She should have felt good about donating, but all she could think about was how she could be giving even more. She could afford it. What else was she going to spend it on? 

Damn Nathan Ford.

Tara shut off the computer and put it aside, determined not to let herself brood on the subject any longer. Her robe draped over the back of her chair, she moved silently into the bedroom where her team had adjourned hours earlier. She paused in the doorway, head canted to the left to look at them. They were tangled in the sheets, Mikal's arm draped over Sally's hip. They were asleep now, having tired themselves out earlier while Tara played a shell game with bank accounts across the world.

Before, Tara had never dreamed of working with a team. Sure, a collaboration here and there with another grifter. She loved working with Sophie. But after leaving Nate Ford and "Leverage Consulting," she realized the opportunities that came with branching out. She discovered the advantages of having a hitter at her side, as well as a cunning hacker. At first she saw them as tools she could utilize to achieve even bigger paydays. For the first few jobs, she split the take three ways and they split up until next time.

Until Mikal showed up at Tara's London flat with a bag. Until Sally found Tara and Mikal in New York and offered them a job opportunity. When they completed the job and went to ground, Tara was surprised to hear herself invite them both to stay with her until the heat died down. It was during that weekend they discovered her tendency to funnel some of her spoils to people who could use it for the greater good.

"Nate Ford did this to you," Mikal said, her hands on the back of the chair and her shoulders straight. "He showed you that doing good feels good."

"Yeah." Tara tossed her hair over her shoulder, unwilling to apologize or back down. "It doesn't mean I've gone soft."

Mikal shook her head. "I would not say that. I had the same reaction to being caught by them. This is what they do to people." She was silent for a long moment and then asked how she could add some of her cut to the donation. The next time they chose a job, the discussion included who might benefit from their intervention.

Because while Nate Ford's team did a lot of good for a lot of people, they were restricted. They worked for clients, they went where they were summoned, and they took down people one at a time. Tara didn't have the patience for that. She wanted to choose her enemy, and she wanted to do as much damage as possible regardless of the game. Sometimes there wasn't a perfect con, and sometimes there wasn't a single victim who could seek out the proper help. With her new team, Tara had the luxury of deciding where and when to strike.

Tara knew she was broken. So were Sally and Mikal. She crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed, tugging the blanket down to stroke Sally's naked hip. She touched Mikal's arm, noticing only then that the Israeli's dark eyes were open and watching her. Tara winked and mouthed, "Go back to sleep."

Mikal shook her head no and sat up. She pushed Tara's hair away from her face with one hand, stroked her cheek, and they leaned over Sally's body to kiss. As Mikal's tongue slipped across Tara's bottom lip to beg entrance, Sally woke up enough to run her hand over Tara's inner thigh, prompting her to moan and squeeze Mikal's shoulder in response.

Sally pushed herself up, leaning against the headboard so she didn't disturb their kiss. She stroked Mikal's hair and then wrapped it around her hand, tugging it back. Mikal gasped and Tara sucked her bottom lip into her mouth in abandonment. Sally whispered, "Were you planning to do this right on top of me without even letting me watch?"

"You were the one who said she was too tired to continue," Mikal said. Her eyes were like nothing, vast and deep and black, dangerous and beautiful. 

"Never too tired for this." Sally pulled Mikal to her, kissing her hard as her hand still stroked between Tara's legs. Tara shifted her position so that she was kneeling fully on the bed, waiting until a good breaking point to pull their heads to her chest. Mikal and Sally both eagerly shifted gears to lick and suck her nipples to full erection. She stroked their hair - Mikal's long and dark, curly and feminine despite all her hard angles while Sally's was still short and masculine despite all her gentle curves. 

Tara closed her eyes and let her hands roam over their bodies. Mikal was surprisingly soft and feminine, her large breasts filling Tara's hands. While Sally, the most feminine personality of the three of them, had a lean body with relatively small breasts. Her abdomen was smooth and taut, the muscles of her arms and legs flexing as she pulled Tara onto the bed between her and Mikal. Tara started to roll onto her back, but Mikal put a hand on her shoulder and kept her down.

"No," Mikal said. It was a simple, solitary word. Not a command, just an indication of preference. Sally scooted to one side and Tara lifted just enough for Sally to get under her. Arms around Sally's thighs, Tara wet her lips and kissed her sex as Mikal position herself between Tara's legs. Tara bent her knees, her ass raised in an invitation that Mikal accepted with eagerness. She curled her toes, focusing on Sally until Mikal pressed two wet fingers against Tara's sex. Tara moaned, and Mikal curled her fingers to slip them easily into Tara.

The bed made more noise than the women riding it, their bodies moving together in an intricate dance. Mikal kept her free hand curled around Tara's hip, drawing her backward as Mikal thrust her own hips forward. Sally was leaning back, her upper body so far off the bed that she felt the pull of gravity on her. She held onto Tara's head to keep herself balanced on the mattress, lifting her feet to place them on Mikal's thighs. She caught Mikal's eye and began to thrust against Tara's face, both thrusting their bodies toward each other with their shared lover pinned between them.

Tara came, grinding back against Mikal until her mind cleared and she again focused on Sally's pleasure. Mikal lifted herself and prowled across the foot of the bed. She never lost eye contact with Sally, who was red-faced and panting, eager for whatever Mikal had in mind. Mikal dragged her wet fingers over her areola, making it glisten before she drew Sally's head to her breast. Sally moaned and sucked, using her tongue to lick Tara's juices from Mikal's nipple.

Sally didn't last long after that, and soon Tara was kissing a path over Sally's pubic hair, to her stomach, between her breasts and then finally her lips. They kissed, and then Tara kissed Mikal before watching Mikal and Sally kiss each other. She pulled away from them and dropped against the pillows, pulling Sally to her for a post-coital snuggle. Mikal didn't snuggle, but she didn't refuse snuggling that was pushed upon her. So after she lay down, Tara rolled over and spooned her from behind.

Sally pressed against Tara from behind, her arm crossing Tara's hip to stroke Mikal's abdomen.

"How much?" Sally whispered into the silence.

"Five K."

"Mm." An outside observer would have thought Mikal was simply sighing as she fell asleep, but Tara and Sally were adept enough translators to know she was expressing approval. Tara kissed the slope of Mikal's shoulder. 

It was true that she and Mikal had been broken by the "good guys." But broken didn't mean useless, and it didn't even mean destroyed. Sometimes when a thing breaks, it becomes something completely different. Sometimes it became something better.

Tara closed her eyes and settled between her lovers, her partners, her team. They could decide on their next job in the morning.


End file.
